Qatari Wedding Photos

I mentioned in my blog a couple months ago that I attended a Qatari wedding (my friend Mohammed) and I've managed to acquire a few photos of the event. Mohammed said it was okay for me to post them.


First, the groom:




Sorry ladies, he's already taken!

(Actually wait a sec -- he can have more than one wife! Guess he’s still available if you don’t mind sharing.)

As the groom he is wearing a black robe called a bisht, which is typically worn only by VIPs, or at special events. Typically only the groom and his father (and perhaps an uncle or the bride's father) will wear it at a wedding. It's a great way to find the groom in a crowded room considering almost all the other Arabs will be wearing white dishdasha as well. Aside from the groom, his or the bride’s father, or an uncle, in the three weddings I have attended I have only once seen a guest wearing a bisht, and I found out later that gentleman was a revered close relative.

My understanding is that typically black bishts are worn in the evening, during the day the bisht will be a lighter color such as brown or yellow. This is not a hard and fast rule, occasionally a black bisht might be worn during the day, but I don't think lighter-coloured bishts are worn in the evening. In every wedding I've attended the groom and his relatives wore black bishts.

And there was sword dancing, here are two of my friends dancing past the singers:





And the groom joined in occasionally, when he wasn't greeting guests:




As an aside I would just like to point out that at least one person is wearing a black thobe. While white is the most common color amongst Qataris, in the winter other colors such as black or brown can be worn. They are made of a thicker material to protect against the cold of winter. If you see a picture of a Qatari in a non-white thobe chances are that the picture was taken in winter.

Thanks for sharing the photos Mohammed, and congratulations. If I can get hold of any photos with me in it I will post those as well.